You Don’t Want to See This Saleen Mustang Cop Car in Your Rearview Mirror

A 2016 Ford Mustang GT transformed by Saleen Automotive into a 730-horsepower rolling memorial for California’s Riverside Police Department, this supercharged cop car swaps stock street presence for supercar-grade power and Saleen’s motorsport pedigree. Built as tribute rather than typical patrol equipment, it echoes Saleen’s history of extreme builds, from tuned Mustangs to the S7 supercar. Few squad cars anywhere approach this kind of performance, making it one of the rarest and most talked-about police vehicles in the country.

Californiaâ€™s Riverside Police Department is the latest to take delivery of an insane, high-performance cop car. The car started out as a 2016 Ford Mustang GT, and was handed over to famed Mustang tuner Steve Saleen and his Saleen Automotive outfit. Over the years, Saleenâ€™s various companies have built some epic Mustangs, tuned the Tesla Model S, and even built a supercar, the S7.

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You’re doing sixty in a quiet stretch of Riverside County when a shape fills your rearview mirror — low, black-and-white, and closing fast. It doesn’t look like the usual patrol sedan, and for good reason: underneath that livery sits a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 built not by Ford’s engineers but by tuner royalty. Somewhere between a showroom Mustang GT and a genuine 730-horsepower weapon, this car crossed a line most police fleets never approach. Riverside PD didn’t just want a fast car for the motor pool, they wanted a message. What exactly convinced a California police department to put a supercar’s worth of power behind a badge, and who builds a cop car with a rear wing?

From Showroom Mustang GT to 730-Horsepower Enforcer

The car began life as an ordinary 2016 Ford Mustang GT before it was handed over to Steve Saleen’s outfit, Saleen Automotive. Saleen’s team dropped in a supercharged 5.0-liter V8 that pushes output to roughly 730 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, a massive jump from the stock GT’s 435 horsepower and 400 lb-ft. To handle that power, the car also received a fully revised suspension tuned for extreme cornering and Saleen’s own big-brake package for serious stopping power.

Visually, the car wears black-and-white Riverside PD graphics over a reworked front fascia and a Saleen rear wing, with siren and external speaker hardware built into the design rather than bolted on as an afterthought. Inside, Saleen gauges sit alongside the department’s police electronics, with lighting integrated into the cabin so the car keeps a cleaner exterior profile.

A Rolling Memorial, Not Just a Publicity Stunt

Reports at the time described the car as a rolling memorial to fallen officers rather than a everyday patrol vehicle, meaning it’s more likely to show up at community events and promotional appearances than on routine traffic stops. That distinction matters: Saleen built its reputation on genuinely extreme machinery, from tuned Mustangs to a modified Tesla Model S and its own S7 supercar, and handing that pedigree to a police department was as much a statement about Saleen’s range as it was a gift to Riverside PD.

Riverside wasn’t the only department to get this treatment. Other California agencies have since taken delivery of similarly built Saleen Mustangs, suggesting tuner-built police cars are becoming a recurring, if rare, form of law enforcement outreach rather than a one-off stunt.

For collectors, police-liveried performance cars occupy an odd but genuine niche. They’re built in tiny numbers, rarely offered for public sale, and carry a novelty factor that pace cars and special-edition Mustangs have long enjoyed among enthusiasts. A 730-horsepower Saleen wearing a real department’s colors is about as rare as this hobby gets.

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